Top pick Hunter Greene to make pro debut this week

Hunter Greene, a pitcher and shortstop from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Calif., adjusts his hat after being selected No. 2 by the Cincinnati Reds in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, Monday, June 12, 2017, in Secaucus, N.J.(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)(Photo: Julio Cortez, AP)

A month after they signed him and nearly two months after they took him second overall in the draft, the Cincinnati Reds are finally about to see Hunter Greene in action.

Greene turned 18 on Sunday, and on Monday he was set to throw his first bullpen session for Rookie-Advanced Billings. Player development director Jeff Graupe said Greene could be activated as early as Tuesday, although he left open when Greene would make his actual debut on the mound.

Regardless of when he first pitches, Greene definitely will serve as the designated hitter in a couple of games for the Mustangs this week, Graupe said.

“Any time you get to see a guy that you’ve met and a guy that you’ve seen put the work in and that you’ve read so much about and watched so much film of, it’s exciting,” Graupe said. “I know he’s ready.”

The Reds have eased Greene into pro ball because of the long layoff he’s had from pitching. He pitched only 30 innings his senior season of high school, shutting down in April to save some of his workload for the pros. He hasn’t pitched in three months, and the Reds have worked to get his arm ready to handle those rigors again.

Like many drafted pitchers, Greene won’t jump right into throwing six and seven innings every time out. He’ll start with little nibbles of games and build his way up from there.

“I would look at today like the first day of spring training, if that helps shape it for you,” Graupe said.

Billings has just more than a month left on its schedule, with 32 games remaining between Tuesday and the season finale September 9. If the Mustangs make the Pioneer League playoffs, more games could follow.

Whatever innings Greene has left to accumulate, he’ll add in instructional league back in Arizona. The Reds want to set him up to pitch as much as he can next year, his first full professional season. To do that, it’s possible that Greene winds up throwing between 70-80 innings, including his high school workload earlier this year.

As Graupe pointed out, the final innings tally will be determined in part by how effective the right-hander is.

“If he can go six innings or seven innings in instructional league, we’ll do that,” Graupe said. “But you’ve got to get guys out to do it, too.”

The Reds took Greene at No. 2 overall this June and paid him a signing bonus of $7.23 million, the largest ever under the current draft system. Many considered him the top talent in the draft after he hit 102 mph with his fastball as a high school senior.

He’s considered to have an aptitude for pitching beyond his age, which could present a conundrum as he moves up the minor-league ranks. It’s possible that Greene advances in ability and competition level faster than innings can safely be put on his arm. Because of that, he may not pitch a full season next year, no matter what level he reaches by the end of the year.

Graupe said the Reds have prepared for that challenge.

“We’ve got a shape of what next year will look like already,” he said.